On Reddit, a user by the name 'u/Nnamdi1' posted a fanart of Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir drawn in One Piece style.
The Straw Hat pirates found themselves in a particularly awkward and somewhat unnerving situation; on one side, they were facing an absolutely humongous snake-like Sea King who's impossibly long body nearly encircled this entire lake and stretched for who knows how long. Shortly after being inadvertently awakened by Luffy blowing a nearby large horn, the giant serpent fixated its attention on the Straw Hats, but instead of attacking them, the beast appeared to speak to them in some kind of undecipherable language, which shocked and astounded the Straw Hats even more. But this giant creature wasn't the only being who was summoned by the captain of the Straw Hats' recklessness; on the other side of where the Straw Hats were gathered, a middle-aged man carrying a large axe on his back and a young boy carrying a bow and arrows were present, staring the pirates with curiosity and caution.
The stern-looking man seemed ready to grab his weapon and go on the offensive should the Straw Hats try to attack them in any way, while the boy next to him was looking at them with childlike curiosity. But strangely of all, neither of them seemed the least bit wary or alarmed by the mountain-sized snake's presence, even when the leviathan's head was so close to them all.
What the Straw Hats didn't know yet was that these people were Kratos and Atreus.
Finally, Sanji decided to speak, "Really? You're just calmly asking who we are when there's a giant monster right behind us?" He pointed at a finger up at the World Serpent, who was silently staring at them all, for emphasis.
Judging by his response, Kratos surmised that these people were likely not from Midgard to not know who the World Serpent was. He mainly focused his attention on Brook and Chopper, not accustomed to seeing a skeleton dressed in such strange clothing and a miniature reindeer walking on two legs and speaking like a human.
"Why'd you summon him, then?" Atreus decided to ask.
" 'Summon him?' " Nami repeated as she looked at the boy in surprise before pointing up at the towering Jörmungandr. "Wait. You mean, you know what that thing is?"
"I think one of 'em saw the horn over there and blew it, not knowing what it was meant for, little brother." Suddenly, a new and unfamiliar voice with a Scottish accent spoke.
"Gah! Who said that!?" Usopp cried out.
Kratos reached down the back of his waist and pulled the severed head of an old man, holding it by a short rope. The head had a bald head with two small horns on the top and a long grey beard. His skin was light red in colour and covered in runic tattoos, whilst possessing a single glowing, golden eye.
"I did." The head said ever so cheerfully.
…
"AHHHH! A TALKING SEVERED HEAD!" Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Franky and Chopper cried out in sheer terror at the sight of the talking head.
"And here I thought that I was a dead weight. Yohohohoho!" Brook laughed.
"Super cool!" Luffy gleefully exclaimed with stars seeming to replace his eyes.
Unlike her friends, Robin remained calm and composed at the sight of the talking head, but she was nevertheless surprised and intrigued by this seemingly unusual anomaly.
Atreus blinked a few times at the odd reactions these people had towards Mimir's presence, not quite sure what to think or react. Sure, the sight of a talking severed head would invoke feelings of horror to almost anyone, but the reactions of these strangers were exaggerated, even by their standards. Even Kratos couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at their bizarre, if comical reactions at seeing a still-conscious severed head.
"Are you an evil spirit!?" Chopper asked as he pulled out a cross and pointed it at Mimir. "Back, spirit! Back!"
"Yeah! What he said!" Usopp backed him up.
"Wow! Take it easy, lads." Mimir gently said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Heck, I couldn't even if I wanted to."
"He does have a good point, guys. He is just a head, after all." Luffy commented innocently. "I mean, the worst he could do is try to bite us."
This earned him a small snicker from Atreus.
"I'll take that as a complement." Mimir muttered under his breath before clearing his throat. "Anyway, since you all woke up Jörmungandr without knowing it, I'll tell the big fella to go back to sleep."
With that, Kratos raised the head up so he could meet the face of the World Serpent directly, who had been calmly staring at them all throughout their conversation without showing any hint of hostility to anyone. Then, Mimir began to speak in a similarly-bizarre language that the serpent spoke not too long ago.
"Joooooooooormmu-ndr… Hooooooooeeeeee-vet. Sleeeeeeeeeeepe… Uuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaa."
To the astonishment of the Straw Hats, it appeared that the Sea King — or whatever this creature was — understood the head's words perfectly, as it replied back to him in the same peculiar dialect. Luffy and his friends then watched in amazement and awe as the World Serpent slowly withdrew his face from them before moving back up and placing his enormous head atop a sea cliff in the distance. Seeing that they are in no longer in any immediate or apparent danger, the Straw Hats allowed themselves to calm down a bit before Nami turned to the trio, deciding to speak on her crew's behalf.
"Your assumption is accurate, um… Mr. Head?" She hesitantly spoke to the severed head.
"Call me Mimir."
"Um. Okay, Mimir. We were sailing across the Maubeugemour Sea, until we saw a strange fog approaching our ship, and when it engulfed us, we found our way to your island."
"Island?" Kratos asked in confusion.
"Yeah. I mean, that's what this is, right?" Usopp asked.
Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir looked at the Straw Hats in confusion and puzzlement, something that did not go unnoticed by Robin, Nami, Sanji, and Franky.
"Umm… sorry to tell you all, but you're not on any kind of island." Atreus said softly.
This prompted most of the Straw Hats to look at the young boy in complete and utter shock. It seemed illogical yet none of them detected any hint of deception or ignorance from the young boy. Sanji then decided to speak, "if we're not on an island, mind telling us where we are, then?"
"You're in Midgard, of course! Specifically, the Lake of Nine." Mimir said matter-of-factly. "How could you not have noticed?"
"And this 'Midgard' isn't an island?" Nami asked, her curiosity and confusion growing by the second, as did those of her crewmates.
Kratos, Atreu, and Mimir stared at these strangers with silent yet baffled looks. Did these people arrive in Midgard from another one of the Nine Realms, which wouldn't be unheard of. But the fact that they initially assumed that Midgard was an island was still quite odd and puzzling. Additionally, they also didn't seem to be aware of Jörmungandr's presence in the Lake of Nine when they arrived, which is basically common knowledge across the Nine Realms. What's more, the way these people were dressed was another thing that stood out about them. Their clothing style was… odd for a lack of a better word, unlike anything Kratos or Mimir had seen.
"You also mentioned a 'Maubeugemour Sea', which we've never heard of before." Atreus pointed out.
The Straw Hat pirates were growing more confused and alarmed by this odd revelation. First, they are told that they are not on an island, but some place called 'Midgard'. Then, this boy told them they had never heard of the Maubeugemour Sea. Just what was going on here?
Mimir pondered deeply, analysing each and every word these strangers said, sensing not hint of deception in their voices, as he was quite good at telling when someone is lying. Then, his only eye widened as he finally realized what may be going on.
"Say, you mentioned you were enveloped by a strange fog before ya' arrived here, aye?"
"That's correct." Robin nodded, sensing that Mimir might tell them of where they are, or at least give them a clue.
"Do you know who they are, head?" Kratos asked.
"If what they said is true, they are from – well, how should I put this without soundin' crazy? Ah, the heck with it! They are likely from another world!"
The Straw Hat Pirates all gasped in shock and surprise when the head made this bold and unexpected claim! Another world? They were in another world?
"Are you sure, Mimir?" Atrus asked, sounding a little sceptical himself.
If Mimir had a neck, he would have nodded. "Every once 'n a while, 'bout once or twice every 20 to 50 millennia, there is 'n anomaly that bends space 'nd time, creating invisible portals that allows for interdimensional travel between different worlds, beyond even the Nine Realms! These portals often manifest as unusual-lookin' fogs, which, as you can probably guess, wouldn't arouse much suspicion from people who see 'em. This is an extremely rare phenomenon, lads! One even Odin or myself know very little 'bout and have spent centuries trying to understand!"
Both Atreus and Kratos were very surprised by this sudden revelation, as were the Straw Hats.
"H-Hold on a second!" Nami called out. "You're seriously saying that we're… in another world?"
"Aye!"
Silence washed over the Straw Hats as this bombshell of a revelation was revealed to them. They had literally been transported to parallel world, something none of them had ever thought could possibly occur in their entire lives. Nami and some of the more logical-thinking pirates would have dismissed Mimir as lying or playing a prank of them, but they couldn't deny the sincerity in the head's voice. And based from experience, many of them had seen things that they once dismissed as mere legend.
"This is so cool!" Came the ever-cheerful shout of the captain of the Straw Hats. "Did you hear that? We're on an alien world, you guys! An alien world!"
"Well, technically, from their perspective, we're the aliens, Luffy." Usopp pointed out, though no less amazed at this revelation.
"I'm still having a hard time believing that what you just said is true." Sanji stated, narrowing his eyes at the talking head.
"If ya don't believe me, take a look 'round Midgard!" Mimir stated confidently.
"My Log Pose did start acting very strange when the fog was approaching us." Nami said as she placed her hand on her chin, thinking back to that strange phenomenon. "If what he just said is true, that could have been due to the bending of space and time when we were approaching the invisible portal."
As a professional navigator, Nami knew that a New World Log Pose functions a bit differently than the Paradise Log Pose, being able to record the magnetic waves of three different islands simultaneously. She can safely say that she had never seen a New World Log Pose acting in such an odd way before, to have all three needless spinning around rapidly. Thus, the only logical explanation she could think of would be that something was messing with the Los Pose's ability to record the magnetic field of any landmasses. And, as far as she was aware, something like that could only be accomplished if time and space were somehow distorted. Like Nami, Robin came to the same conclusion in her mind, as well.
"I have never once heard of this temple before, nor do I know anything about its history, not to mention I found no Poneglyphs whatsoever here." Robin added, further confirming Mimir's explanation.
"Guess we really are in another world, then!" Franky stated loudly before he, Luffy, Brrok, Usopp, and Chopper all jumped into the air in excitement.
"THIS IS SO COOL!"
Though Nami, Robin, and Sanji didn't seem quite as visibly enthusiastic or vocally thrilled as their five companions, they were just as astonished and amazed by this discovery as anyone could be upon realizing they had been transported to another world. Nico Robin considered writing an entire book about their experience once they return home. Not even Gol D. Roger could boast claims about having travelled to another dimension, and no lost civilization that Robin researched in the past held any indications of extradimensional experiences. Then again, from what Mimir said, it is possible that throughout history, some ships, either belonging to pirates or Marines, may had unknowingly passed though these invisible portals and entered into other dimensions, but failed to return. Given how many ships regulatory go missing or are destroyed on a weekly basis in their world, either by Sea Kings, enemy vessels, shipwrecks, or simply as a result of hostile weather, the idea of unknowingly traveling to parallel worlds via invisible portals would not be an idea the World Government would even consider, much less entertain. If anything, such a claim would be downright laughable without physical proof.
With that, Nami turned back to Mimir. "Anyway, how do we return to our world?"
Mimir bit his lower lip and looked away for a moment before taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling. "Well, the thing is... I don't really know if you can return to yer' world." He winced as he said this.
Just like that, all the excitement and enthusiasm drained away from the Straw Hats, while Robin's fears were silently confirmed. If there are ships that had indeed disappeared into these portals before them, entered parallel worlds and never returned, then they would simply be the latest prey of this phenomenon.
"Uh... come again?" Usopp asked, not liking where this is going.
"Like I said, I don't know much about how this phenomenon works m'self!"
"So, you're saying we're stuck here!?" Nami cried out in horror.
"Now clam down, lass!" Mimir gently said. "There still might be a way to return ya' all to yer world." The Straw Hats allowed themselves to calm down as Mimir continued to explain. "There's a small chance that the portal that brought ya' all here will re-open in that exact same location. All ya' need to do is figure out when it will re-open."
"That's gonna be impossible! There's fog everywhere here, so how are we gonna know when's the portal gonna open?" Usopp asked.
"When we were unknowingly approaching the portal, all the Log Poses on our ship started acting bizarrely." Robin stated, recalling that strange phenomenon. "Therefore, we can use the compasses to see if they will act strangely like before. And if they do, that is how we will know that the portal has been re-opened."
"It's like fishing, but for an invisible portal!" Usopp exclaimed in excitement before turning to Mimir. "Thanks so much for that!"
"Heh. Happy to be of assist, lads!" The head smiled softly. "Though I should warn ya' that I don't know when the portal will open again. You could be in for a looong wait, lads."
"Well, from what you told us, we don't have much of an option." Nami sighed. "If we want to return home, we'll have to wait for the portal to reopen, no matter how long it takes." With that, she turned to face her crew. "Alright, here's the plan: We're going to sail Sunny in the direction of where we first came here, and wait to see if the compasses act strangely again. If they do, we'll quickly sail into the fog, and hopefully, return to our world." It wasn't a full-proof plan, but it was the best she could come up with given what they've learned thus far.
"Aww. But we haven't even explored this place yet." Luffy whined. "Didn't ya hear what the talking head said? We're literally in another world! How many other pirates can boast a claim like that?!"
"While I'm thrilled at the discovery of parallel worlds as all of you are, if we don't return to our world, we might end up stuck here forever. Which means we'll never find the One Piece, and you won't become King of the Pirates." The navigator specifically pointed at the captain.
"Yeah, you do make a good point." Luffy folded his arms in acknowledgment. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to check around while we wait."
"You are pirates?" Came the gruff voice of Kratos, who had been mostly silent throughout this conversation. He narrowed his eyes at the Straw Hats and gestured for Atreus to step back, reading to reach for his axe should these people turn on them.
The Straw Hats tensed up, having realized that the scary-looking man and his son didn't know their identities as pirates until now. Even Mimir was surprised to discover this. The last thing they needed right now is to have an unnecessary fight with some pirate-hating locals. Although, the Straw Hats couldn't blame Kratos for turning hostile and defensive all of a sudden. After all, many of them didn't have particularly good opinions on pirates prior to meeting Luffy and becoming pirates themselves.
"Hehe...surprise!" Usopp weakly smiled and gulped tensely.
"So, I take it you've had bad experiences with pirates, then?" Sanji asked.
"No. But we know what pirates do." Kratos answered, his hand still nearing his axe. "Have you come to rob this temple?"
Nami felt particularly uneasy, given her initially plans for this place.
"Why would we do that?" Luffy asked rather innocently.
"Because that's what pirates do, isn't it?" Atreus asked, also having taken a defensive stance. "They raid and pillage ships and villages they come across. And even kill people for their enjoyment."
"Not all pirates are like that!" Luffy protested. "Those are bad pirates! They give us good pirates a bad name!"
"Good pirates?" The boy asked, sounding confused and sceptical.
"There is no such thing as a 'good pirate'." Kratos growled, which made most of the Straw Hats all the more uneasy.
"Easy now, Brother." Mimir gently said. "Call me ignorant, but I don't think they're lyin'. Also, given that they're from another world, it is possible that there are good pirates in their world."
"Hm." Kratos was still sceptical about such a claim, but he could see the logic in Mimir's voice, as outlandish as it was. Finally, the spartan allowed his body to relax as he abandoned the defensive posture, Atreus doing the same. Likewise, the Straw Hats sighed, relived and grateful that a possible confrontation has been avoided.
"Well then, I suppose this is where we'll be partin' ways, I guess." Mimir spoke again to ease the previously tense situation. "Good luck!"
"Yeah. Thanks for helping us out." Usopp smiled at the severed.
"Uh, before you leave, should we be worried about the Sea King over there?" Chopper asked, pointing a shaking hoof at the World Serpent in the distance, who was still silently napping atop the cliffs.
"Sea King?" Mimir asked. "Oh, you mean Jörmungandr? Don't worry about him, lads. As long as you don't do anything to provoke him, he won't bother you. He's really quite friendly, actually!"
"If you say so..." Usopp muttered under his breath, not sounding too convinced himself.
"Speaking of which, you were able to talk to him in a language I've never heard of before." Robin recalled their bizarre conversation.
"Ah, that. He speaks in an obscure language that's more ancient than even these mountains. I'm the only other person in Midgard who can speak that same language." Mimir explained.
Nico Robin became all the more fascinated hearing this. "Do you think you could teach me how to speak it?"
"I'd love to, lass. But I'm afraid that I'm already preoccupied with helping these two at the moment."
"I understand." The archaeologist nodded in understanding.
"Where are you guys going, anyway?" Luffy asked curiously.
"We're going to Jötunheim, to spread my mother's ashes. It was... her last wish to us." Atreus explained.
The Straw Hats were taken aback upon hearing this, surprised by the revelation, before they subsequently gave the boy sympathetic looks — especially Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Robin. Many of them had experienced the anguish of losing their loved ones at a young age, thus they could understand what Atreus and his father likely went through, and the responsibility they now carried on their shoulders.
"That's a very nice thing you're doing for your mother." Nami smiled warmly at the boy.
"Yeah! She'd definitely be proud of you guys!" Usopp chimed in.
"Thank you." Atreus smiled at them.
"You're so loyal and brave, little man! I can't hold back my tears!" Franky was bawling loudly with waterfalls of tears streaming from his eyes. Atreus couldn't help but feel surprised and a little awkward at Franky's sudden emotional outburst.
"Uh... thanks, I guess?"
"Come, boy. We are leaving." Kratos said before putting Mimir back on his belt and turning to leave. Atreus followed him not far behind, waving his hand at the Straw Hats as he left.
"It was nice meeting you guys! See ya!" The boy said before following his father.
"You, too! I hope we meet again!" Luffy yelled back at Atreus while waving. After the two left, the captain remembered something he forgot to ask them. "Oh, shoot! I forgot to ask them if they wanted to join by crew after they finished their work!"
.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Kratos turned to Atreus with a look of annoyance and disapproval. "Why did you tell them of our destination?" He asked sternly, clearly still not trusting the Straw Hats, and disapproving of telling strangers vital information so casually.
"I dunno. They seemed pretty nice." Atreus shrugged. "Plus, they're from another world. I mean, how cool is that?!"
"It is those who seem nice at first that are the ones who most likely have ulterior motives." Kratos warned. "Especially if they come from another world."
"Don't you think you're just a little bit paranoid?" Asked Atreus.
"I have been betrayed by those whom I have trusted many times in the past. I speak from experience, not instinct." Kratos asserted, whilst remembering the many times the Gods of Olympus had betrayed him.
"Okay, if you say so." Atreus shrugged.
.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats were already returning to Thousand Sunny. After everything Mimir explained to them and the nature of this phenomenon, they couldn't afford to waste any more time (in spite of their dimwitted captain's protests).
"Hey, Zoro. We're back-" Nami's sentence was cut short when she spotted the swordsman lazily slouched against the base of the flag pole, soundly sleeping. "Watching over our ship, he said." Nami's right eye twitched as an angry vein popped on her forehead. By the time the other crew returned to Sunny, they saw Zoro awake and with a painful-looking bump on his head, courtesy of Nami waking him up.
"So, anything interesting up there?" Zoro asked.
"Oh, you bet!" Luffy happily exclaimed. "We saw a talking Sea King, a talking severed head, and some scary-looking guy and his kid! But that's not all; the head said that we're in another world! How cool is that?!"
Zoro just stared at the captain blankly without saying a word. "Am I still dreaming? Nah, that punch Nami gave me definitely wasn't a dream."
"It's is as a ridiculous as it sounds, Zoro." Robin confirmed. "Apparently, that fog that we passed earlier was some sort of invisible portal that allows for interdimensional travel."
Now the swordsman was surprised and intrigued, as he knew that Robin wasn't one to make such exaggerated claims like most of the other Straw Hats. "Seriously?"
"Yes. But, unfortunately, we're on a ticking clock." The archaeologist's face turned serious. "If we don't return to our world soon, we might be stuck here forever."
"Alright! Let's turn this baby around!" Franky exclaimed.
With that, the anchors were raised from the water and retracted into the ship as Sunny made a complete 180 turn. Thankfully, several of the pirates remembered the direction of where they came, and naturally had Sunny sail in that particular direction, as per Mimir's instructions. They neared one of the nine towards, an area where the fog was particularly thick and hazy. Eventually, Sunny stopped and the anchors were once again released into the water to stabilize the ship as it floated in the Lake of Nine.
"Hmm. My Log Pose is still acting normal." Nami noted, staring at the compass on her hand intently.
"So are all the other compasses on Sunny." Franky said, having already checked all the other compasses on the ship. "Meaning the stupid portal still hasn't opened up yet."
"Well, Mimir did say that it could take a while for the portal to reopen." Usopp recalled the head's words. "For all we know, we might be waiting here for years!"
"Ahhhh! I don't wanna wait here for 100 years!" Chopper cried out.
"If that's the case, then we still have plenty of time to check out this world!" Luffy exclaimed, eager to explore this opportunity of a lifetime.
"But what if the portal opens while we're exploring?" Sanji countered. "We can't take a risk like that."
"Well, we can't exactly wait here for who-knows-how-long." Zoro argued.
The Straw Hat pirates had found themselves in a very difficult and daunting predicament. On one hand, it would be extremely boring and tiring to continually stay in one spot, waiting for an invisible portal to reopen — which could happen either 5 seconds from now or 5 weeks from now. On the other hand, if they are to leave Sunny and explore this alternate world filled with unknowns, they may very well miss their chance to return home, for the portal could reopen in the time they are gone. It was truly a difficult and frustrating situation; one the Straw Hats had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing right now.
Finally, Nami sighed and stepped forward. "Okay, I guess we don't have much of a choice, then. We can take the Mini Merry and head out. But, at least one of us has to stay here and watch the compasses at all times if anything strange happens."
"Not it!" Luffy quickly raised a hand.
"Each group will take a Den Den Mushi and be in constant communication with each other. If someone notices the compasses on Sunny acting strange like before, immediately notify the other group, and the other group has to quickly return to Sunny as soon as possible."
"Well, it's not a full-proof plan, but it sure beats waiting here for eternity." Zoro commented, arms folded.
"Well, you're definitely not gonna be the one to watch the compasses, Zoro. After how you fell asleep, I'm not trusting you with this very important job." The navigator huffed.
"Oh, yeah! Let's go on an other-worldly adventure!" Luffy jumped in excitement, unable to wait to explore this mysterious new world that is Midgard.
Sorry for the very long wait, everyone. Unfortunately, I won't be updating this story again and don't know if I ever will. To be honest, I don't feel the motivation to continue writing this story anymore. I might change my mind in the future, but if not, I will either leave the story on an indefinite hiatus or allow someone else to adopt and continue it.
I will give my Author's Note when I have made up my mind regarding the future of this story.
Again, sorry for the long wait, and sorry to disappoint you all. I hope you understand